Rush^

After the headmaster's radio announcement, the classroom is in mild disorder. People start to pack up their belongings, leaving the canvases to dry — it's up to the teacher to lock the room, though she might not be in a state to do so. Indeed, the three Art Studies classrooms, unlike the Art Club's room, are shared by teachers of the same year: first, second or third. Next time we'll have Art Studies should be in three days.

One of the girls is by Bigaku-sensei's side, handing her a pack of tissues. She still tries to maintain distance between the young art teacher, that probably didn't expect to see carotid arteries today. I feel somewhat compassionate towards both of them, but shift my gaze to my bag.

But my wrist is held by a hand. Kanadera-san...? Looking at her, she's already to go.

"Taoru-kun, can you follow me? Please, don't ask anything."

The way she turns those sentences is unexpectedly forceful. Truly, the past few minutes have been crazy. I suspect something is up...

"I'm not so nice as to follow you around like a dog..."

"We need to go find Yuuyami-san," she cuts to the point.

... All the while, she pulls on my wrist with power. I don't get why, but alright. That was indeed the plan. We did agree to venture the streets to look for the urban legend. But things should have changed significantly.

As she leads me outside, I witness as the corridor fills itself up with a growing flow of students. We soon reach the stairs, and the wide baseball field can be seen through the windows, whence sunset enters from. We then arrive at the floor where Yuuyami-senpai should be. And indeed, I can notice a purple bun atop the crowd of students.

"Yuuyami-senpai, follow us to somewhere calmer, where we could talk."

This place happens to be right before the gates, as the entryway is littered with various cherry trees. In spring, they blossom beautifully, only to fade as time goes on. We assemble near one of them.

"Kanadera-san, Yuuyami-senpai. I know I agreed to follow you but... Things clearly changed. Haven't you heard the headmaster?"

"Yes. Tokyo's authorities ask of us to obediently go home. In other words! They are covering the mystery!"

"I want to make sure, but... Yuuyami-san, are you in the know about Shibuya?"

Such precaution is graceful. Keep it up, Kanadera-san. And so we should not linger outside any longer. However, I don't doubt about it. If there's one thing incredible about Yuuyami-senpai... It's her street smarts! Especially when it comes to tracking gossips and urban legends.

"You mean the 2chan leaks, right?! They're from 360° security cameras. And there's even more! On the same thread, the anonymous poster added the camera leaks from the emergency exit. You can see the high-school boy running up the stairs, dripping wet with sweat, as if chased by a ghost!"

"So it was a high-schooler... This might be the reason all high-schools near Tokyo are closing earlier."

And it also means we'll be suspicious if we go anywhere near the crime scene. Also...

"Yuuyami-senpai, perhaps you should be more careful about what you say, where, and how loud. People are listening."

Pointing with my finger, I gesture towards the four students by our side. One of them looks away, and they walk by us.

"We have to take the subway to go to Shibuya's train station," concludes Kanadera-san. She seems oddly concerned by that incident.

But one thing troubles me...

"So, in a crowded place like Shibuya. Some dude falls from a high roof, and dies causing an horrible puddle of blood on the ground. His neck is cleanly cut. That's enough to cause mass panic, I guess. How comes no suspect has been arrested by the police?! And, based on the leaks of the emergency exit, we should clearly see the person that cut the head..."

"I'm so proud I could shed tears of joy, my little Taoru-kun. You have developed a keen detective-like mindset. The conspiracy is about it! Why is the police hiding it?! Why none appears on the cameras?! Why is his head sliced?! Where did the head go?! What occured on the roof?! And this is precisely because of such a darkness, that we ought to go on the scene to investigate."

God, save me from befriending suicidal people!

And so, the remainder of the sunset is spent in the darkness of the subway system, as at long last Yuuyami-senpai keeps tight-lipped. Keeping an eye on her, I notice that some shaddy suit-cladden men in their thirties seem to have caught her interest...